Considering changing from LT to Atkins

Member

I have been on LT for 2 weeks tomorrow. Lost 9.5 pounds in the first week and suspect my weighin tomorrow will show another 4-5 pound loss. My husband and workmates are very supportive. All in all, it has been going very well for me, though I have had the expected ups and downs. Haven't cheated once though, so I am very proud of myself.

So why am I considering changing? I'm worried that I will find it harder and harder to stick it long term, as I have basically become a hermit in the last 2 weeks and can't accept social opportunities, as they almost all involve food. I miss my husband, as he now goes into the study for dinner and I go do something else to avoid temptation. I'm hungry the last several days, despite drinking loads of water. Don't get me wrong. I am EXTREMELY committed to losing weight and if this is the only way to do it, I just WILL! I am positive that I am in the right frame of mind for losing weight. I'm just wondering if I have chosen the method that is right for me.

Does anyone have any opinions or has anyone tried switching to Atkins? I'm just thinking, as it is also a ketosis diet, it might be a logical transistion. However, I don't want to drastically slow my weight loss down, so if it is a lot slower, I'll just have to get used being a hermit. LOL

Regular Member

I've done Lipotrim/Cambridge and Atkins. If you are struggling, my suggestion is switching to Cambridge. You can have two shakes a day and a meal in the evening. When I got close to goal, I even went out for the odd indian and had tandoori chicken with salad and stayed in ketosis. If you switch over to Atkins, there are too many temptations to cheat, whereas with Cambridge you'll still get weighed and be monitored.

Peace Love Happiness

My experience of Atkins was a dramatic weight loss (about 6kg in two weeks) but I then stopped, found it so hard to stick to and I somehow got the taste for high fat food again and put on two stone.

That is just my story, so make of it what you will but I found Atkins almost impossible to do longer term and I only know one person who does it as a way of life and she is an exercise junky and could probably eat anything anyway.

Full Member

I would be interested to know what the "new Atkins" diet looks like when it comes out, as apparently it is much healthier than the original Atkins which caused some serious health side effects. Low carb is sensible, stacking up of fats and proteins clearly isn't.

Diet re-starting with the aim to get down to 12st 7lb (although anything near/below 13st3 will be fab!). Got to 12st 4lb in 2008, but not realistic to maintain without a total lifestyle re-think. 100% Lipotrim worked once before, (series of good reasons, and personal failures why weight gained again), but not sure can do 100% LT again now, so will try fruit/carrots as snacks / morning stop gap, to get me to the midday first of 2 LT shakes. Will step up exercise if/once the first 2st has gone.

Gold Member

Do you mind me asking how much weight you'd like to lose? If it is just a stone or 2 then maybe CD or maintenance with a low fat low carb meal will shift it for you by Christmas. If you have more to lose then LT or CD would lose you about a stone a month (more in your first month) so you could be 4 stone down by Christmas.

I haven't curtailed my social life at all since starting LT, which is just as well as I have just finished my 19th week with another 10 to look forward to! Admittedly as a mother of 3 it isn't as active as when I was younger!!!! I've been to barbeques and girlie nights out without breaking my diet or letting many of my friends know which diet I am on!

I find I am now detached from food and it really doesn't bother me these days.

Good luck with whichever path you decide on.

x

Mini goal: Survive a month on LT!:sigh: Done! Yay!
April to December 2008 lost 127lb
Stupidly put too much back on so starting again 2/8/09 :break_diet:

Member

Thanks for your responses. I chose LT mostly because someone I know of had dramatic weight loss very quickly on it. The all or nothing made a lot of sense, because I had to cut out all temptation full stop...done, kicked my Pepsi habit way faster than I expected. I'm not even craving it at all! However, I am hungry and worried I'm going to cheat. Also, missing my husband dreadfully. We take walks when the weather allows, but it's not the same as cooking dinner together at the end of a long day, then sitting across from each other and having a chat while you enjoy the fruits of your labour.

I know that I have to think about food and sensible choices eventually anyway if I am every going to keep the weight off, which made me start researching Atkins. I just put in a call to a Cambridge counselor too and can't wait to hear back. The idea of 2 shakes and one meal is very appealing. It makes the day easy, while giving me my quality hubby time together at night. Is the weight loss on either of these diets similar to the "stone per month" that LT says is average for women?

Member

You must have been typing at the same time I was. Thanks for anticipating my question! I am in the right frame of mind for weight loss, so I need the quick loss to keep my momentum going. I have a lot of weight to lose, so I want to stick to a diet that is as quick and efficient as LT. If I have to choose between LT's average stone loss per month and quality time with my hubby, I'll just make do, stick with LT and make a healthy dinner date with my husband for Christmas. LOL

Crawling to the finish!

I would say stck with it. You say you have to turn down all social occasions as they involve food, but once you are at goal if you intend on staying there you will need to reject a few offers then too. Make a different suggestion to your friends, maybe rent a dvd or go the cinema and you definately do not have to eat. Hag on there it will be so worth it. Long term loss on LT is also about combatting food addiction, and like a drug, the only way you will gain so much control is by giving it up. hope i helped xx

Full Member

I would also say stick with it, it does get easier week 3 onwards. Because you will feel soooooo much better about yourself with quick weight loss, it will all be well worth it. Hang in there and enjoy the results. A few months of effort for a lifetime of improvement.

Diet re-starting with the aim to get down to 12st 7lb (although anything near/below 13st3 will be fab!). Got to 12st 4lb in 2008, but not realistic to maintain without a total lifestyle re-think. 100% Lipotrim worked once before, (series of good reasons, and personal failures why weight gained again), but not sure can do 100% LT again now, so will try fruit/carrots as snacks / morning stop gap, to get me to the midday first of 2 LT shakes. Will step up exercise if/once the first 2st has gone.

Silver Member

i did the atkins diet for about 6 months and lost 4 stone. i found it easy to stick to and really don't know why i came off it to be honest. once you get through the first 2 weeks, where you can't drink alcohol and you can only have 20g of carbs a day, it becomes easier. i found using my carbs up on vegetables and salad made it a more healthier diet. i tried to stick to lean white meat rather - and then had the more tastier meats at the weekend (although to be fair you can whatever meat whenever you want). good luck with whatever you decide

a new way of living!

good luck either way, although i have my shake when keith has his dinner, i sit and chat while he cooks, sit and chat during dinner. you dont have to be seperate - yeah i know its hard, but you get used to it, and to be honest, i am glad i've dont it this way - its helped me switch off from food, so i dont eat it out of habit or just because others are eating it.

if it aint broke, dont fix it. you can always change it later if it does become a prob. also, try having a flap jack when you are out, it makes you feel part of it more.

Gold Member

I was going to suggest what Helen has just said. After a few weeks you do become detached from food so you will be able to sit with your OH and chat while he eats his tea and you have a shake. I have cooked most days for my OH and 3 children and often sit with them while they eat without a problem. On the days I do feel vulnerable I ask my eldest to cook and hide on the computer while they eat. It is very rare these days.

My girlie nights out rarely revolve around food, the last 2 times we went bowling and had a right laugh. I've also sat in a pub with a sparkly water before, it is the company I go out for not the food. There are lots of evenings out you can enjoy without eating or drinking whether your friends know you are on the diet or not.

To be perfectly honest, only tfr diets will give you the rapid weight loss you would like. As soon as you add food the losses will slow down.

I do hope you make the right decision for you soon and can continue kicking the nasty fat into touch. I have been amazed and pleased with the losses I've had and it really has changed my life for the better. I'm impatient and have no willpower and would not have stuck to any eating diet for as long, I would have caved in for the chocolate on the first day!!!! On LT I have not craved chocolate once, even manage to have a chocolate shake without being tempted! I do crave salad and salmon and prawns though! And strawberries and grapes! How weirdd is that!!!!

Good luck babe, we are here if you need us.

x

Mini goal: Survive a month on LT!:sigh: Done! Yay!
April to December 2008 lost 127lb
Stupidly put too much back on so starting again 2/8/09 :break_diet:

Member

Thanks for all your support. I haven't made any decisions yet. I have made an appointment with a local Cambridge Diet counselor tomorrow, so that I can look at all my options. The counselor is actually much easier to get to, the shakes are actually cheaper than my pharmacist is for LT by about £10 per week, plus it sounds as if there is more variety and some already mixed, which might make going out easier. Even if I switch, perhaps I'll just stick to total food replacement. I guess I will sleep on it, visit my pharmacist tomorrow as planned, stick with it for another week and see how I feel when I have 3 weeks down. Thanks again for your help!

Silver Member

Hi hun, my experience has been very similar to Helen and cfairy, so I would say TFR for the speediest loss. However I have also lost a lot of weight and kept it off quite a long time with Atkins, just not as quickly as with LT.

Whatever you decide you have done brilliantly so far, and I am sure it will be successful, don't forget to keep us posted x

Full Member

i've done atkins too, to be honest try and stick with LT....i sit with my family while their eating chipys etc.
I have to prove to myself that i won't be going back to the bad old days Mcdonalds..KFC..

Really this diet is so good and its short term!

All the best what-ever you do!!

Was on LT about this time last year my Start weight was 17st 7lbs...I Lost 29lbs on TFR(2st 1 lb)

Gold Member

cambridge diet boasts a stone a month and if you look at the gals who have been on it for some time they all have lost that and more. They also have 2 premixed shakes that you can suck straight out the carton and they have 6 different meal bars. They are also bringing out another premix shake soon and are releasing cambridge porridge this week that will still keep you in ketosis supposedly...cant wait.
Hope this helps
angie